Category Archives: Tips and Tricks

Building an in-home podcasting studio can give you the feel of a real radio studio and the flexibility of interviewing your guest(s) in person, not to mention optimize your sound quality. On BlogTalkRadio University, we interviewed host Linda Reznicek on how to build an in-home podcasting studio. Linda hosts Real Sisters Talk and after being on the network for only one and half years, the show has already garnered over 1 million listens.

There’s several reasons why Linda has been so successful on our network. Not only does her show sound fantastic, but she’s also interviewed some pretty amazing guests like Pulitzer poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, Pulitzer Poet Claudia Emerson and Grammy Winners Eric Tingstad, Jose Feliciano & Mason Williams. Throughout her podcasting career, she has worked very hard to research and find the best equipment needed for her studio and she was kind enough to come on the show and share all of her knowledge on the topic. Linda has now even upgraded from broadcasting from her home to another studio location, and she took us through all that she has learned along the way.

What I loved hearing Linda say was that she wanted to convey this information to all of her fellow hosts in the spirit of the BlogTalkRadio community. She believes that the better every host sounds, the better our network sounds to the world. Thanks for coming on Linda!

Without further ado, take a listen to Linda’s tips and don’t forget to take notes!

When scheduling an episode, it’s very easy to overlook writing an effective title, especially if you have re-occurring episodes. Think of it from your listener’s perspective – Would you listen to an episode with a generic title that tells you nothing about its content? It’s overwhelming for a listener to see a show page full of the same episode titles or worse yet episode titles that are just the name of your show! Make it easier on your listeners and correctly label each of your episodes so they can find what they are looking for more easily.

For instance, if you are interviewing a particular guest like Maya Angelou, who has been on our network a few times, you would write a title like this: Maya Angelou, Esteemed Poet & Author. Take a look at the titles from our branded show, Storytellers presented by BlogTalkRadio to get a feel of how this works: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storytellers

Remember, if you have a re-occurring show, make sure to edit the title of your show each time you broadcast with the right information & don’t forget to fill in keywords that also match up with your content and align with your episode title. It will make all the difference!

If you’re hungry for more info on SEO, check out these other articles from our blog on the topic:

We were happy to welcome BlogTalkRadio veteran host, Paul Lawrence Vann to BlogTalkRadio University recently. During his 5 years on the network, he has hosted over 400 episodes of The Wealthy Speaker Show, interviewing bestselling authors, social media experts, actors, relationship gurus, creative thought leaders, and more.

On the show with us, he shared his wisdom for landing great guests & more valuable hosting tips. Tune in here.

Best-selling author Guy Kawasaki believes Google+ will ultimately win the social networking game. “This is Google, after all,” he said on BlogTalkRadio University earlier this week, noting that we shouldn’t underestimate the power of the No. 1 search engine.

Guy shared ready-to-apply tips from his book with the BTR community. Select the image above to listen to the podcast.

Guy’s chat with us was not only informative — he answered a bunch of BTR listener and host questions — but also super entertaining. At one point, he likened himself to the Pope! Listen to the full interview for a fun breakdown of this important social networking tool.

Guy: Branded pages have limitations because the person has to follow you before you can follow that person back. Your hosts are people first, brands second. If you’re representing Boeing or Porsche or Procter & Gamble, then yes, create a brand page. But for most solo practitioners, create a personal page.

Q: What sets Google+ apart from Twitter and Facebook?

Guy: Twitter is about gaining perspective, such as how long the line is at Starbucks, there’s an earthquake in Peru, etc. And Facebook is for pre-existing friends — people you know enough to care about their baby, their cat rolling over, etc. — you’re connected by blood or history. Google+ is about passions. For instance, very few of my Facebook friends share my passion for photography, so I can share those posts on Google+, which is for finding people you don’t know yet who share a common interest with you.

Q: Can you talk about the power of Google behind G+?

Guy: No one knows search like Google. Let’s say you’re interested in SXSW but can’t go this year, so during it, you want to know what’s happening. If type SXSW into Google, you’ll see standard coverage by the New York Times, Mashable, CNet, etc. All the journalistic entities. But if you type the same keyword into Google+, you’ll see posts by people you know — insider posts that are remarkably different from, say, the Christian Science Monitor‘s posts on it. Google+ gives you more personalized results.

Q: Since many of our BTR hosts have shows on topics they’re passionate about, what’s the simplest way to grow their audience on G+?

Google+ is one of the most powerful ways BTR hosts can grow their listening audience.

Q: What’s the best way to use G+ for self-promotion?

Guy: I use what I call The NPR Model: NPR provides good content 365 days a year. Every so often, they run the telethons to fundraise. We tolerate them because we feel a sense of obligation. So what you should do is become a sector expert and promote good content all the time, so that when you want to promote your stuff, people won’t be offended. The community doesn’t tolerate pimping all the time.

Guy: I post 10 times a day, 365 days a year. But that’s what works for me. 10 times a day is only too much if you post crap. I don’t post crap. I post between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. PT, the prime time for posting. I use tools for scheduling posts. [To find out which ones, listen in.]

Q: Should we make all our posts public?

Guy: 100% of my posts are completely public. I understand the utility of posting to a specific circle, but I’m trying to post to my followers. Every post goes to my closest 2.8 million friends.

Isn’t it cool to live in a world where tech industry superstars can enjoy a fan base comparable to those on the red carpet?

Original Apple employee, thought leader and bestselling author Guy Kawasaki has2.8 million followers on Google+, 1.1 million Twitter followers and a combined 300K Facebook likes. Next week, he’ll tell BlogTalkRadio University why Google+ outperforms all other social networks.Hint: It’s not just a numbers game.

To Guy, Google+ — or G+ to the initiated — is as special as Macintosh. The author of 10 books (including Enchantment, The Art of the Start, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy and The Macintosh Way), Guy felt compelled to write his latest go-to guide, What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us, because he considers G+ the better social network. With simpler tools and built-in search capabilities, G+ makes it incredibly easy to connect with others based on shared interests.

BTR listeners: Find out how much fun can be had expanding your circle of friends.

QUEUE UP YOUR G+ QUESTIONS

If you listen live, you can submit questions in the BTR chatroom or call-in at 323-843-6062 to ask a question and listen! Or you can submit your questions ahead of time on social media: Use hashtag #GuyKOnBTR to submit your question on Google+ or on Twitter, or post one on our Facebook page. Or, you can comment below!

Remember, Guy’s book is aimed at newbies, so no question is too small.

This value-packed show begins at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 28.Get informed and get in the G+ inner circle!

It was a pleasure to have BTR Host Lara Galloway, AKA MomBizCoach on BlogTalkRadio University this week. Lara is a business coach to mom entrepreneurs and was recently named by Forbes as one of the top 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter (She has over 20K Twitter followers:). In her interview she shares how she built her brand on BlogTalkRadio along with what she has learned from hosting her show since 2009. This is a don’t miss episode if you are using BlogTalkRadio to help promote your business, brand, book or project! Tune in here.

A great way to get started hosting your radio show on BlogTalkRadio is to do a test show. Like with anything, it really pays to practice. Doing a test show will help you to get comfortable with your studio and also educate you on what to expect when you do your first show.

We get a lot of questions from hosts on the topic of test shows so we decided to do a show all about on BlogTalkRadio University. Listen to our archived show to learn how to do a test show and also get some tips on the process while you’re at it! Tune in.